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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Plast Surg 2022; 55(04): 376-382
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1759502
Original Article

The Role of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Reducing Pain, Pruritis, and Improving Wound Healing of Skin Graft Donor Site

Sheikh Sarfraz Ali
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Imran Ahmad
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Mohammed Fahud Khurram 
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Gautam Chaudhury 
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Somnath Karad
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Sudanshu Tripathi 
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Aditi Sharma 
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Abstract

Background Wound healing is a dynamic and complex process. Therefore, no single agent can efficiently mediate all aspects of the wound healing process. Split-thickness graft has become a workhorse of plastic surgery for wound or raw area cover. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the donor site and its effect in pain, purities, and epithelization.

Materials and Methods This is a prospective study. A total of 15 patients were included who underwent split skin grafting for burns, trauma, or post-tumor excision raw area. PRP was prepared using standard described procedure. The donor site raw area after harvesting split-thickness graft was measured and the surface area was divided into two equal halves. One half was dressed using PRP and the other half was dressed using paraffin gauze piece only. The dressings were changed weekly for 3 weeks.

Observation We found significant reduction in severity of pain and pruritis in the PRP group as compared with control group. Epithelization was faster in the PRP group on day 7 and 14, but the overall healing time was nearly the same by day 21. The side-by-side dressing thus show a definite improvement in the post-split-thickness skin graft wound care and PRP as a good dressing alternative.

Conclusion Autologous PRP is very effective adjuvant in management of skin graft donor site. Its role in relieving pain and pruritis over donor site significantly improves patient's discomfort postoperatively. It helps in early and painless wound healing. However, we recommend for larger clinical study for better understanding of the efficacy of this blood product.

Keywords

PRP - split-thickness skin graft - skin graft donor site


Publication History

Article published online:
22 December 2022

© 2022. Association of Plastic Surgeons of India. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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